1. Field of the Invention
Optical fiber products and quality control.
2. Prior Art
There is no known prior art method or device for continuously determining the loss characteristic or attenuation of optical fibers as they are produced. With the increased use of optical fibers in communication systems and other end uses it has become more and more important to be able to know the loss characteristics of optical fibers. It may also be desired to utilize the information so obtained to control the fiber drawing process. Furthermore by noting the loss characteristics of a specific fiber it is possible to avoid the use of that fiber in any circumstance where the attenuation characteristics would be critical in the operation of the device in which the optical fiber is utilized. Thus monitoring the loss characteristics has become an important quality control technique in optical fiber manufacture.